"I have never had doubts about the propriety and advisability of the grant," Raiser said. The decision to make the grant was affirmed two years later when Zimbabwe gained its independence, Raiser added. "Today Zimbabwe respects the rights of its white minority while giving equal rights to its black majority."

In a speech to the assembly Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe praised the WCC for its "courageous gesture" in setting up the Programme to Combat Racism. "Today I present to you the country your grant helped, the children whose lives you saved... They know who brought them the loaves and fishes that saved their lives."

• a coalition of US church leaders whose churches have been burned or firebombed in racist attacks;
• an organization in the Netherlands that promotes minority participation in the European business community;
• an indigenous community in Taiwan that is trying to recover and preserve its unique cultural identity.